Women are architecture's original rebels. Over 120 years ago, they insisted that architecture schools and professional organisations open their doors to women, arguing that the field would thrive (or wither) according to the diversity of its students and practitioners...And yet despite this long history of challenging architecture to be inclusive, women have been given little credit for their contributions. — Al Jazeera

"There's still a glass ceiling, ironically, in architecture," said Rosa Sheng, senior associate at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in San Francisco and chairwoman of the Missing 32% Project, a group that promotes equitable treatment of all architects. "There's an influx of more women coming in, but the hurdles haven't changed," she said. It takes roughly 12 years to become a licensed architect, according to NCARB. — The Wall Street Journal

Well before American women could vote, these college-educated few rose to the pinnacle of their fields as garden designers, writers and photographers. Declaring American gardens to be distinct from those in Europe, they took as their mission the beautification of America, whose cities were polluted and whose residents were suffering from decades of grinding income disparity and rampant industrialism. [...]

“It really was landscape gardening as social activism.” — washingtonpost.com

In 1980, when Marsha Maytum was a fledgling designer at the San Francisco architecture firm EHDD, the majority of women on construction sites were centerfolds. [...]

Nearly 35 years later, progress has been measurable but mixed. Women make up 25 percent of architecture staff in the U.S., though they now earn 42 percent of the architecture degrees. — curbed.com

Only just over 20 per cent of architects are women, according to the most recent statistics, with only 14 per cent working as directors or partners of practises – and those who do enter the profession can be given a rough ride. [...] According to AJ: "Two thirds of women have suffered sexual discrimination at work, an eight-point increase since the survey began in 2011." Wow. An increase, just when you’d hope things would be getting better. — telegraph.co.uk

This 56-minute documentary film features interviews with nineteen Arab architects from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia. It explores the subject of the practice of architecture by Arab women architects and features stories on their experiences, challenges, and achievements. In order to facilitate viewing, the film is divided into six sequels. — Center for the Study of the Built Environment

Sexism is alive and well in architecture, according to research showing that two-thirds of female architects believe the construction industry hasn’t fully accepted the authority of women.

The annual Women in Architecture survey, conducted by Architects’ Journal, found evidence of widespread discrimination and unequal pay in the profession. — independent.co.uk

My own conviction is that the most meaningful prolonged response to the Pritzker — but much more, to the entrenched discrimination it both reflects and reinforces — will involve political action directed toward measureable change. It will involve ramping up the current professional and cultural conversation — now focused on sharing experiences, promoting awareness, influencing leaders in the field — and articulating specific goals, definable outcomes. — Places Journal

Zhang, a Chinese real estate developer, is the seventh richest self-made women in the world, worth $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. She's worth $800 million more than Oprah Winfrey, the world's best known self-made female billionaire.

Not only does Zhang's rags-to-riches story mirror that of China itself, but it is Zhang who has shaped much of the country's modern urban landscape, with the logo of her company SOHO China, on the side of buildings wherever you turn in Beijing. — cnn.com

In 1961, Phyllis Richman applied to graduate school at Harvard. She received a letter asking how she would balance a career in city planning with her “responsibilities” to her husband and possible future family. Fifty-two years later, she responds. — washingtonpost.com

Women make up almost half the graduating architecture classes, but only 17 percent of architecture-firm leadership. Even as women have made great strides in the field over the last several decades, that disconnect hasn’t gone away. — csmonitor.com

Data from the AJ’s first Women in Architecture survey show that 47 per cent of women claim that men get paid more for the same work, and almost two-thirds believe the building industry has yet to accept the authority of the female architect — architectsjournal.co.uk

Opinion seemed to be divided along generational lines. Simon, FAIA, shared Berman’s sentiment. Simon founded San Francisco-based SMWM, once the region’s most successful woman-owned firm. (SMWM has since joined Perkins + Will where the formidable Simon is now a design principal.) She thinks “Architect Barbie” trivializes the profession and objectifies its female practitioners. — metropolismag.com

If you're in New York next week, make sure to check out the book launch party of the Hall of Femmes project, a new book series highlighting the contributions of women in design. Presented by the Art Directors Club, the party will be hosted at the ADC Gallery (106 West 29th St., New York) next week Tuesday, June 28. The event is free and open to the public. — bustler.net